Search Results for 'popular' (2975 matches)

Rice In Chennai Station

I was having something to eat at the central railway station in Chennai when I noticed an old man entering the canteen. He asked the man behind the counter for some food but, as he obviously couldn't pay, none was forthcoming.

So, I indicated to the canteen worker to serve some rice and paid for it without the old man noticing.
 
The old man had the food and left. And I was left with a warm feeling of love and compasion.
 
"It is in giving that one receives." Thank you Saint Francis of Assisi!

Teaching Kids Spiritual Harmony

Aikido, translated as “the way of spiritual harmony”, is a Japanese martial art. While it is a powerful system of self defense, the greatest benefit of Aikido training is that it provides a means to better yourself and become a happier, more balanced person. There is a piece of calligraphy authored by Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of Aikido, that reads “True victory is victory over oneself”. This concept and Aikido itself is suitable for people of all ages. For the last year or so, I have had the privilege of being an assistant instructor for the “Kid's Self Mastery” classes at my dojo; helping to teach children ranging in age from 5 to 10 years old. The classes themselves consist mostly of games and exercises allowing the students to learn Aikido, teamwork, respect, kindness, and other skills in a way that's fun to them. They also have “Mat Chats” in which ... Read Full Story >>

Trying Not To Blush On My First Kindness Mission

I have been a member of this site for quite a while and come on everyday while at work to read the stories to cheer me up. However, I had never used a smile card until recently!! I started a new job and was a little bit unnerved by my larger-than-life boss. She told us that she was going in for an operation and I could tell that even though she was acting "normal" that she was really worried underneath. So I thought I would try my first smile card act of kindness with her. Before going out to lunch as we all did, I snuck away from the group and went and bought a really nice box of chocolates for her (as she was quite partial to a nice bit of choccy). Then was the task of getting them into the office and placing them on her desk without anyone noticing it was me!! It ... Read Full Story >>

Sunday Night Kindness Deliveries

Last night was date night with my little girl. She wanted to conduct another Kindness "Special Ops" Mission for our evening. That afternoon, we made up some kindness envelopes full of a smile cards, a few dollars and a special note. She decorated the outside of the envelopes with smiley stickers and the words "Open me, I’m a gift for you!" She wanted to go to the mall and secretly place envelopes around to spread some Christmas smiles. When we dropped our first one and walked off without being seen, the look on my daughter's face was priceless. She was beaming and had a joyful kick in her step. I love how she loves our kindness missions! For the next one, we sat down at a table for a minute, ready to scurry off and leave our envelope behind. The heavy sea of people around us made it challenging. My daughter is ... Read Full Story >>

Good Deeds Don't Go Unnoticed

I work in a restaraunt that has a program working with ex con's and the homeless. There is a guy who started working with us as a dishtanker and he told me his story one day. He lived in Florida, (we're in Ohio now) and he received information that he owed child support on a 6 year old boy. Well this was news to his ears because he didn't even know he had a kid! He came to Ohio to to clear this matter up and took a DNA test that determined that the kid was his. He was PROMPTLY put in jail for owing over $19,000 in back child support. He stayed in jail for 9 months and when he was released he was homeless, jobless. Instead of giving up on his kid and going back to Florida where he had plenty of family and help, he stayed in Ohio and ... Read Full Story >>

Valentine's Day Wisdom

Here's a poem that you might enjoy reading:

Coffee With A Professor

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life. Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite -- telling them to help themselves to the coffee. When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: "If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones.  While it is but normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress.  The cup itself doesn't add to the quality to the coffee and in some cases even hides what we drink and yet you consciously ... Read Full Story >>

Picking Up the Tab for Breakfast

After church this Sunday morning, my daughter and I went to a local restaurant for late breakfast.. An older woman was seated next to us at an adjoining booth. What drew my attention is that when she came in and seated herself , she walked straight toward us with a smile, as though she was going to sit with us and knew us, but then turned to her table and took a seat by herself. I thought to myself that I should have invited her to sit with us. When we were done with our food, my daughter and I left our booth (the woman was still seated at her table) and whispered to the waitress to put the woman's breakfast on our tab.   The waitress seemed surprised at what I was doing for a stranger. So I told her of a card I had received the previous day from a complete stranger, ... Read Full Story >>

Sticky Note Smiles

About a month ago, I went out to purchase post-it notes, and colorful markers, and I put on my thinking cap! 

Messages of love, forgiveness, patience, gratitude and happiness went on those sticky notes, and I posted them in public spaces where I thought it would make someone smile to find it.

It's not much, but it makes me happy to do it.  I hope that once someone else finds a note, they will receive the happiness that I feel, and perhaps even pay-it-forward! :)

Sandwich Mondays Feed Hungry People And Our Spirits

I am new to this group but not to the idea of helping others.  Funny thing is, I never really give helping others much thought, it is just something I do.  I am sure that most of those who find their way here are similar in nature and action.   The opportunities are all around us if we are open to them and not so caught up in our own routines. That being said, my first post here is not about something that would raise eyebrows, elicit sighs or gain a round of applause.  It is just a simple thing but I hope that it brings comfort to many and lets the recipients know that there ARE people out here who care about them. Following my aunt's death 5 years ago, I made a decision to hold on to her condo in the California desert .  It is a familiar and serene ... Read Full Story >>

An Surprise Gift

Last week I went to a different grocery store than usual, just to check it out.  The person in front of me at the checkout was pregnant and purchasing a couple of containers of milk.  No big deal, she would be done quickly and I could be on my way.  Her method of payment was a WIC card and it kept telling her that it wasn't working.  A manager came over and told her to come to a different register, maybe this one was the problem.  After I checked out, I noticed she was still there, trying to get her card to work.  It was obvious that the young woman was getting anxious about the purchase so I offered to pay for her purchase.  She was shocked that I had even offered and very humbly accepted.  She thanked me and I went on my way with a smile from her. Everyone needs ... Read Full Story >>

When I First Came ...

When I first came to Kindspring I was recovering from depression and anxiety attacks. KS helped me to see beyond my immediate field of vision, and the inspirational stories of kindness renewed my outlook on life and the world in general. I had come from a period in my life which was pretty much summed up by these words from Tolkien which I read almost daily and often clung onto, Frodo: “I can’t do this, Sam” Sam: “I know. It’s all wrong. By rights we shouldn’t even be here. But we are. It’s like in the great stories, Mr Frodo, the ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn’t want to know the end, because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it’s only a passing thing this ... Read Full Story >>

An Uneven Exchange Late-night

I worked as a waitress for a few months. I was not a great waitress and I worked in a restaurant that served mostly older people who, bless them, haven't learned that 10% is no longer a tip waitresses can live from--let alone a college student packing on 20 hours!

One night, when I was still working two hours after my shift was supposed to finish, all I wanted was for my last table to clear out so I could clean and go home.  My last customer caught me on her way out and asked if I had change for a twenty.  I dug through my apron and turned out my night's earnings... a measly $14.

She smiled at me and said, "That's enough."

My eyes welled up as I made the uneven exchange. "Thank you," I whispered.

I heard her little boy ask why she did that and she explained that I'd had a hard night and she just wanted to help me out.  Not only did her kindness touch my hurried, hassled life, but she also taught her son an important lesson that night.

I don't know her name, but I will always remember her.

A Regular Person's Christmas Compassion

This was written by a Metro Denver Hospice Physician:  I was driving home from a meeting this evening about 5, stuck in traffic on Colorado Blvd., and the car started to choke and splutter and die - I barely managed to coast into a gas station, glad only that I would not be blocking traffic and would have a somewhat warm spot to wait for the tow truck. It wouldn't even turn over. Before I could make the call, I saw a woman walking out of the "quickie mart" building, and it looked like she slipped on some ice and fell into a gas pump, so I got out to see if she was okay.  When I got there, it looked more like she had been overcome by sobs than that she had fallen; she was a young woman who looked really haggard with dark circles under her eyes. She dropped something ... Read Full Story >>

Buddha Doodle Rug for Two

I love how much this place has changed me. As many may know I love Molly and her Buddha doodles and have wanted to purchase a throw rug for sometime.
However the shipping is more than the rug to get it to me in Australia.

So I've asked my sister in law who is currently in the US if she would mind me shipping it to her to bring when she visits in December. She said she would and mentioned her favorite is 'tree of life' when I said I couldn't decide which to get.

So I've decided to buy it for her along with mine. What a nice surprise it will be for her when she receives two, not knowing one is for her ♥

No Regrets: Living with Dying

[Author Kitty Edwards, left, and Patti Pansa, right] In May 2013, Patti Pansa, a professional engineer and life coach, contacted me to assist her in her journey towards death. She had taken care of all the literal preparations for death: she had spoken to her family members about her wishes for end-of-life care; her last will and testament, advanced health care directives, and medical durable power of attorney were all signed and delivered to the appropriate people; a list of her important accounts with passwords sat in a folder next to her computer. But Patti wanted more. She wanted to leave a legacy for her family and friends. Perhaps most of all, she wanted to discover ways to celebrate life while she still had time. I shared with Patti several articles on the regrets of the dying, chronicling how many regretted working too much, spending too little time with family, or living ... Read Full Story >>

There is Life in Just a Smile

It was only a sunny smile,

And little it cost in the giving,

But like morning light,

it scattered the night,

And made the day worth living.

-Unknown

Thank you for all of your smiles as they have made my days worth living. 

Kind Words That Touched a Young Mother

I was on the bus with two of my young children this morning. My daughter was chatting away to me.

When the bus came to its next stop an older lady was getting off. As she passed me, she smiled and said, "You're a good mum."  I thanked her and was a little bit embarassed.

Then, after she got off, tears came into my eyes. It meant so much to me because no one ever really says that -- probably most mum's don't hear that very much!  I'm really grateful to her for taking the time to say it.  Having said all that, I don't know what I was doing that made her want to say it!!

A Lesson In Receiving Graciously

I often walk from work (near Pier 39 in San Francisco) to the Embarcadero BART station, where I catch a train back to the East Bay. Several times, I passed a gentleman who I presumed was homeless.  He had a lot of his possessions tied down to his bike and held a cardboard sign that said he was a vet who doesn't drink or do drugs, but would appreciate anything that could be given.  He usually has headphones on and is listening to the radio. He is always minding his own business, often reading as well.  I've never seen him actively "panhandling." Several times, while I was passing him, I realized I had some food with me, so I turned around and offered him that food (most recently, a blueberry muffin).  He took off his headphones, and said "Umm, blueberry muffins are my favorite!" with a big smile and a gleam in his eye.  ... Read Full Story >>

Kindness "To Go" At This McDonalds

As a substitute teacher, my daily routine invoves driving to a new school almost every day so I'm usually unable to anticipate the days events, good or bad! On one particular day, I was teaching in a very difficult classroom. I was managing behaviour all morning and by lunch time, I knew I needed a coffee to even consider surviving the afternoon. So on my lunch break, I drove to a nearby plaza to get a coffee. Upon returning to the car I realized I had locked my keys and my phone inside! I had about 15 minutes to get back to the school which was a good four or five-minute  drive away. I contemplated sprinting back, but it being winter, I thought a nasty fall on ice would only make the situation that much worse. So I ran into a McDonald's which was in the same plaza and asked the man ... Read Full Story >>